Maybe, I Hope
by Fractal Alexander
Summary: Gideon Prewett has a special night ahead...


**A/N: This was written for Round 5 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. I am Chaser 3 on the team Kenmare Kestrals - our prompt was to write about Gideon Prewett (brother of Molly Weasley, nee Prewett) who died during the reign of Lord Voldemort. Additionally, we were to choose 1 of 10 scenes to write about for the given character - I chose Prompt #3, Gideon's first date. My optional prompt choices as a Chaser were 2. (word) tiptoe, 3. (quote) No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. - Helen Keller, 12. (word) pristine. **

**Anyhow, here is the story of Gideon Prewett's first date. Enjoy!**

_**EDIT: Since this came up in my scores, decided I'd add a note to explain it...  
Narcissa Malfoy's backstory is never really explained, aside from being the younger sister of Andromeda Tonks and Bellatrix Lestrange, so I sort of came up with my own backstory for her. As it goes, she grew up loving and admiring both of her older sisters, and was fairly sheltered and innocent. This is where her personality is within this story. Her first big shock/dose of reality came when Andromeda decided to get married to Ted Tonks, and suddenly, she was cut off from the entire family - treated like she never existed. This was a big shock for Narcissa, and she tried to cope with it by doubling down on her attachment to Bellatrix. But then when she learned that Bellatrix had joined forces with the Dark Lord and was committing horrible crimes, that further confused her. The "last straw" was Gideon Prewett's death - at that point, she gave up on trying to be something good in the world and decided, instead, to try to survive in the world. She married Lucius Malfoy not so much for love as for business - their marriage was more for their families than for each other. And she joined the Dark Lord's forces for the same reasons - power, and her family. The only one she really cares about anymore is Draco, for whom she is willing to risk anything. Otherwise, her sisters, her family, her husband, her Master - they are all disposable to her. She wants her son to have a full and happy life, and nothing else matters to her anymore.**_

* * *

_ "No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."_  
- Helen Keller

"Come on, now, Gideon." Fabian Prewett nudged his twin brother with a wicked grin on his face. "She asked you to meet her alone beside the statue of Barnabus the Bewildered at midnight. It's obvious she fancies you!"

"I know you think so..." Gideon sighed with a shake of his head, "But I don't think it's a date. She's never even noticed me before, there's probably some other explanation...maybe she and some of her Slytherin friends are planning to ambush me..."

At this, Fabian outright laughed. He and Gideon were both in their fourth year of Hogwarts, and outwardly, they were identical down to the last freckle. They shared the same messy red curls, overlong nose, crooked smile, and lanky build, and both were students in the Gryffindor house of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, their similarities ended there. Fabian was loud, fun-loving, and confident, the Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and always surrounded by a gaggle of friends and admiring girls, while Gideon was quiet, shy, and studious, had proven far too clumsy to play Quidditch, and generally kept to himself and his family - namely, Fabian, and their older sister Molly. "If you think it's an ambush..." Fabian ruffled Gideon's hair as he spoke. "...then why are you still going to meet her there?"

Gideon shrugged. "I guess I'm just hoping that you're right."

* * *

As night fell over the castle, Gideon grew increasingly nervous. "If anyone asks where I am - "

"You must've gotten up to head to the loo, damned if I know, I'm your twin, not your keeper." Fabian recited. "I know already."

They were the last two left in the Gryffindor common room. Their father's wizarding chess set was open between them, but their game had ended long ago, and Gideon hadn't tried to start another one. Fabian knew better than to attempt to convince him.

"And if I'm not back in the morning - "

"I covertly search for you, ask around...and if that yields no results by the time class starts, tell the Professors that I haven't seen you since breakfast and ask them to help find you."

"Right. How do I look?"

"Handsome, as always...of course, you look exactly the same as me..."

"Shut up, Fabian."

"Alright, you look awful, I don't know how people say we look alike."

Gideon sighed, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Honestly, though?"

"You won't look any better if you wait." Fabian nudged him. "Go! Narcissa Black's the impatient type. You don't want to leave her waiting, do you?"

"Right! Right! Fine, I'm going." Gideon almost knocked over the chessboard as he stood. "Wish me luck!"

"Oh, it's not luck you need, it's prayers that this isn't an ambush or a setup! That'd be an awful first date."

Gideon blushed crimson. "I didn't say this was a date. Neither did she."

"Right, right." Fabian winked. "Go on."

Gideon paused for a moment, trying to figure out what would be the best retort to use against his brother, but nothing came to him. Finally, he sighed and walked away. "Hope for the best, I guess."

"Damn right, or it won't happen. You know what Dad always says. Pessimists never did anything worth remembering, they sealed their own fates to accomplish nothing. Only those who believe the best will happen have a shot at it!"

Gideon nodded and gave his brother a crooked smile of gratitude before climbing through the portrait hole and out into the night.

* * *

When Gideon arrived at the statue, there was nobody there. He frowned and checked his watch. 11:58. _She's not late yet, _he reminded himself, _maybe she's just running a bit__ behind._ He tried to busy himself examining the statue in order to distract himself. Every inch of the statue was in pristine condition - the caretaker, Apollyon Pringle, was very serious about keeping the castle clean, so there was never even a speck of dust on any of the chandeliers, never any dullness to the statues, never a scratch on a rail or a floorboard. The statue was a full seven feet tall, a hunchbacked man with wide, peering eyes at a larger-than-life scale. A small placard read "BARNABUS THE BEWILDERED - PIONEER, ENGINEER, BEETLE-SEER." Gideon was trying to figure out why it would mention "beetle-seer" when a tap on his shoulder made him jump. He barely stifled a yelp as he spun - and found himself face-to-face with Narcissa Black. She giggled as he fumbled for a moment, trying to recover his composure. "Hi, Gideon." She raised her hand shyly to cover her grin. "I didn't mean to startle you, sorry."

"It's no problem." He smiled nervously. "Are...you here by yourself?"

She gave him a strange look. "I told you to come here by yourself. Why wouldn't I do the same?"

"Um...ambush? Setting me up on a blind date? Want me as a third wheel on a date?" The words stumbled through Gideon's lips at barely over a mumble. Immediately after speaking, he prayed that she hadn't understood it - he sounded like a fool.

She shrugged, tossing her long, pale-blond hair back over her shoulders. "I didn't catch a word of that...but yeah, it's just me. I thought you and I could go for a walk on the grounds...Pringle's quite busy in the dungeons tonight, he won't be outside."

"How do you know he's busy there tonight?" Gideon worried for a moment that he'd sounded suspicious - he wasn't suspicious at all, merely worried that he'd be hung by his wrists for a week if she was wrong.

"Well..." Narcissa lowered her voice. "Let's just say I left a job for him down there...then a couple hours ago, I told the Bloody Baron that somehow, the potions classroom had been transformed into a horrid swamp, would he let Pringle know?" She stifled a laugh at Gideon's look of amazement. "It'll take him several hours to clean up at the very least. We've got all night, trust me."

Gideon wasn't sure if he should congratulate her or scold her. "Whoa! Are you _mental? _If Pringle finds out it was you - "

"My father knows Horace Slughorn. Trust me, I'm not getting any trouble from a lowly man like Pringle, nope, not while I'm a member of the Slug Club!" She grabbed Gideon's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Come on, let's go for a walk. Down by the lake. I want to show you something." She stood on tiptoe to whisper in Gideon's ear. "Trust me, this isn't something you want to miss."

Part of Gideon still worried that Narcissa's swamp-diversion wouldn't be enough to keep Pringle occupied. But he ignored that part of him. _This is my first chance to be alone with Narcissa Black,_ he reminded himself. _If I spend tonight worrying, I might not get another chance like this..._

He turned to smile at Narcissa. "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

The grounds at night were completely different than they were during the day. During the day, there were often lessons, or students milling about, socializing between classes. But at night, there was no hum of student activity to drown out the wind in the grass, the sound of the lake's waters lapping against the shore, the rustling of leaves, other sounds that Gideon couldn't quite identify. In daylight, he'd never really seen just how vast the grounds really were, or noticed the way that the lake pulsed against the ground. It was all new for him, and it was quite a bit to take in.

Narcissa seemed equally captivated by this landscape. She kept pointing out to Gideon - in hushed tones, so as not to disrupt the music of the wind against the land and water - textures, shadows, movements that she'd never noticed before. She'd always seen the grounds as a simple backdrop to her life at school, in the daytime - but it was like a whole new world without all of those external distractions, and she was mesmerized by it.

"What did you want to show me?" Gideon whispered to her, "Is this it?"

"What? No, no - it's something my sister Bella told me about, I wanted to try it - but I was scared to try it alone, so - you know..."

Gideon's heart dropped. So this _wasn't _a date. _Well, she didn't say it wasn't. _he reminded himself, _Maybe she wants to try it with me as a date. She invited me for a reason. This could still be a date. _"What is it? What did she tell you about?"

"Well, down by the lake..." Narcissa paused on the pebbly shoreline, crouching to examine the rocks. "...she said if I came down here...between midnight and two in the morning...on the night of the full moon...and skipped a stone four times on the lake...something amazing would happen."

"'Something amazing'? Did she say what?"

"Yeah, but I just wanna test it out..." She stood up straight, holding a smooth, flat stone about three inches in diameter. "You...might want to stand back, Gideon..."

Gideon frowned. "No, I'm fine here. I'll only stand as far back as you do."

Narcissa grinned. "That's fine by me. Just be prepared to run if I say!"

Gideon shrugged. "I got it."

"Alright, then...here it goes..." She took a deep breath and tossed the stone across the smooth, steely-gray surface of the lake. It skipped four times before dropping below the surface.

For a moment, nothing happened. Narcissa stared out at the lake expectantly while Gideon watched her curiously. Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh my god! It's happening, look!"

Gideon turned and saw the surface of the lake swelling like a bubble. His eyes widened. "Bloody hell! What's going on?"

The surface burst with a sound like a firecracker. Cold lakewater sprayed all over the grounds. Narcissa gasped at the sound. "Oh god...I didn't think it'd be that loud! Pringle's gonna hear that, we gotta get out of here! Come on!" She grabbed Gideon's arm and yanked him into a run, and together, they took off across the grounds, back towards the castle. They had just gotten back inside when they heard footsteps running down the hall. Narcissa looked at Gideon and mouthed "It's Pringle!" in wide-eyed panic. Thinking quickly, Gideon flung open the first door on his right and pulled her inside with him, shutting the door silently. Both held their breath as Pringle passed. But the moment his footsteps had faded in the distance, they let out a mutual sigh of relief. Gideon shook his head. "That was amazing...but what the bloody hell made it happen?"

Narcissa giggled. "It's the giant squid sneezing. Apparently he's always in the same place on the full moon, late at night...throw a stone in the right way, it makes him sneeze."

"You don't think that's really it, do you?"

"No...it's just what Bella told me. But I wanted to see what would happen, anyhow."

Gideon grinned. "That _was _amazing. It was crazy, too, though - we both could've gotten caught! Is this generally what you do on a first date? Risk flogging in the dungeons for a bit of mischief?"

There was a moment of silence before Narcissa responded. "Did I say this was a date, Gideon?"

Gideon felt his stomach drop. "N-No! I'm sorry, I just - I guess I thought - I hoped - "

She squeezed his hand. At that moment, Gideon realized that she hadn't released his hand for the entire time - she'd grabbed it down by the lake, and they'd been holding hands that whole time, and he hadn't even noticed it! He heard a rustle, and then felt her lips press quickly against his. "I didn't say it wasn't a date either, Gideon, and that wasn't accidental." He could hear from her voice that she was smiling. His heart skipped madly as she leaned in to kiss him again.


End file.
